Phileosophie

Sometimes I wonder if I am a little burnt out. Being six weeks from my final exams, this could mean nothing - it could simply be a reaction to the lack of much else in my life right now, or it could be something more. I am not feeling anything dramatic at the moment, definitely not feeling overly tired nor jaded by my work. Perhaps I could describe it more as the lack of definite goals beyond my final exams. The lack of pursuit, the lack of that fiery passion I normally feel when it comes to my life. About the future... I do not see a huge amount of value in simply going through life - graduating, starting my internship, toiling this life away. I do not see value in going down the same path everyone else goes down because that path generally just leads to death. It all seems rather meaningless. I do not know what is coming next and I am not worried, but I am... somewhat empty. Yesterday I watched Masterchef All Stars on TV and noticed that Poh (a pretty Malaysian-Chinese-Australian

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do nto have love, I am nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3) This is an excerpt from Chapter 7 of Joyce Meyer's book on the fruits of the Spirit. The Bible sats that love is not theory or talk, but deeds. Love is action, doing what needs to be done in every situation (1 John 3:18). Developing love isn't a horrible struggle; it is simply being good to people. ... How kind are you to people? What are you doing for people? How are you treating people who aren't treating you very nicely? ... We are known by our fruit, not only as individual members of the b

I love eggplant and one of these recipes is going to be whipped up realllll soon. (Eggplant is already waiting in the kitchen. ;-)) http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/16524/couscous+stuffed+eggplant Couscous-studded eggplant with currants and  fresh mint (will probably leave the cheese out - just not a fan). http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/3324/bolognaise+stuffed+eggplant OR Bolognaise stuffed eggplant - the benefit being that I have both eggplant AND bolognaise ready to go! We will see... mmmmm. ;-)

I had an excellent time at the ED today. I met a cool consultant - Dr. Quirk, who allowed me to take a few cases under her name and run with them. After I was done she would review my proposed management plan and execute it (because as students we can't order tests or chart medications). She also provided a fair amount of teaching throughout the day, which is not something I always get, either because consultants are too busy or because they are just not inclined to teach. But today was just great - two patients complimented me on my clinical skills. I always tell my patients that I am a student and today two asked which year I was at. When I said I was 2 months from being done, one, a firefighter said "I thought so. You're very confident." Haha. Didn't have the heart to tell her that I had little doubts inside. But it all went well... and I even managed to slip an 85 year old lady a freebie sandwich & hot tea and another lady a blanket.. which warmed my heart

"You go through a range of emotions when you hear that stuff, especially because it's so inaccurate," a source close to Lin said. "Initially, you're upset, then disappointed, then angry and you even think about getting even. But when it's all said and done, you have to stick to who you are and that usually prevails in the end. "Ultimately, Jeremy looked at it as reporters being reporters. He never felt anything against the Knicks, and he has nothing against them now. The Knicks gave him an opportunity that was great and he cherished it." An excellent six part read by ESPN on the events which sent Jeremy from New York to Houston. Click here . Personally, I'm just excited to see where Jeremy will go from here, and how he will grow as a person. Hoping for nothing but the best for him!

I can't believe how nasty some New York fans (?) are being to Jeremy Lin. Lots of people need other things to focus on. Jeremy is an awesome dude.. but more than that.. he's just human. With all the hysteria you'd think he's something else. Anyway, sit back, enjoy the clips. Don't be angry! <p><p><p><p> </p></p></p></p> And this:

Apparently Masterchef Australia has an actual restaurant in the Sydney CBD (click here ) which by the looks of it closely resembles parts of the cooking show in terms of both layout and menu. It's all booked out for lunch and dinner though so if you haven't already made a reservation then you've missed out. It definitely looks like something I'd have loved to take my parents to (assuming I can afford the prices). While there are some contestants I really don't care for, because their personal attributes rub me the wrong way or because I do not like their cuisine, there are others like Adam and Alvin whose food I would have loved to try. Okay, fine, so I like Asian food. LoL. Anyway, I still need to figure out where to take my parents when they come by for my graduation ceremony in December. I'm thinking Sails.. for the awesome view, and perhaps Guillaume at the Opera House because well, it's at the Opera House. Maybe just the Bistro though. since

Chicken rice. Recipe by Adam Liaw . I prepared this for dinner. ;-) My cousin is a lucky boy. The recipe I referred to resulted in a very subtle flavour, closer to what you'd get in a restaurant rather than a hawker center. If you prefer hawker cuisine then you might want to double all the seasoning (garlic, ginger, salt, soy, etc). Addendum 22/07/12: I wrote to Adam about the seasoning and this was his reply: Hi *******, There should be enough flavour in the recipe as it is, but generally if you find that the flavour of a dish needs a bit more punch just check to make sure you’ve seasoned it correctly – that it’s salty enough. Salt intensifies flavours so that may be your problem. If you want a stronger flavoured stock (again, it should be fine just as it is if it’s correctly seasoned), I’d suggest adding more chicken to deepen the flavour. My grandma sometimes makes a “double boiled” stock, which is to say that she will cook one chicken in water to produce t

Beautiful video and production by Giles Li & Ash Hsie. I loved it. Shared on twitter by Josh Lin. Giles Li talks about the video here .

Matt Redman, author of ' Heart of Worship ' (When the Music fades) speaks about ' Blessed Be Your Name '. Click.  

by Anonymous  (this handwritten poem was found amongst the belongings of a patient after he died at hospital) What do you see nurses? . . .. . .What do you see? What are you thinking .. . when you're looking at me? A cranky old man, . . . . . .not very wise, Uncertain of habit .. . . . . . . .. with faraway eyes? Who dribbles his food .. . ... . . and makes no reply. When you say in a loud voice . .'I do wish you'd try!' Who seems not to notice . . .the things that you do. And forever is losing . . . . . .. . . A sock or shoe? Who, resisting or not . . . ... lets you do as you will, With bathing and feeding . . . .The long day to fill?  Is that what you're thinking?. .Is that what you see? Then open your eyes, nurse .you're not looking at me. I'll tell you who I am . . . . .. As I sit here so still, As I do at your bidding, .. . . . as I eat at your will. I'm a small child of Ten . .with a f

I've been reading a blog written in 2008 by a woman who was dying from Scleroderma. (http://diaryofadyingmom.blogspot.com.au/ ) It occurred to me that while I would rather live in New York, I would much rather die in Australia. I don't know what to think of that.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  James 1:2-3 Trey Erwin was a 15 year old boy who died on July 5, 2012 after a 6 month battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. This is his funeral video - a celebration of his life and his faith.

I have decided to move my medical posts to a new blog here: http://themedicalnotebook.blogspot.com/ The new blog will come with an index page for easy browsing. I will maintain this blog for reflections on life and other fun stuff.

The human body is an elegant thing. Everytime I see a nice muscular body I feel the need to know which muscles I am looking at.. coz I'm nerdy like that.  The following picture was borrowed from ESPN's 'Body Issue' and I have added what I believe are the correct anatomical boundaries and labels. The original image has been linked below (click on the picture). From an anatomical point of view this man certainly is a piece of art!

Spent all of last week volunteering at the 2012 Hillsong conference. Was lucky enough to be rostered on MATV in the mornings and CCU during some lighter sessions at night. MATV looks after all the screens and audio from TV, outside the main arena while CCU looks after the iris (brightness and levels of black) on screen both in the arena and outside. Also got rostered on external venues in the afternoon though my venue didn't come with a camera and the Production guy was able to run the show on his own so I got to sit in sessions. Steven Furtick was great - he talked about having faith and stepping out into what God has called us to even when we were not ready and not sure. Louie Giglio brought a very cinematic sermon as usual, though I fell asleep during his last session because I was just so tired from the conference. I definitely want to get a hold of the DVD after my finals and will probably write about the conference at the end of September when I have more time. One